Two 'house bands' from same Bolton pub vying for top music festival slot – Manchester Evening News

Two rock bands based at a Bolton town centre pub are vying for a shot at performing at a major music festival.
Heavy metal rock groups Dwingle and Phallic Rage, who regularly perform at the Alma Inn on Bradshawgate, have both successfully won through the heats and quarter finals of the Manchester section of the popular Metal to the Masses talent competition.
The two groups will now go head-to-head and perform at the semi-final of the contest at the Rebellion club in Manchester on Sunday (May 4), where they will be both hoping to win the all-important vote from the audience and the esteemed panel of judges.
The ultimate prize for the winners will be a 30-minute slot at this summer's Bloodstock Festival, which will take place at Catton Park in Derbyshire in August.
Hailed as the UK's largest independent metal festival, the Walton-on-Trent event will feature performances from the likes of Trivium, Machine Head, Gojira, Emperor, Lacuna Coil, Mastodon, and Lord of the Lost.
Metal to the Masses aims to find 'the hottest new metal talent' to appear across the festival weekend in August, with a dedicated slot on the Hopical Storm New Blood Stage. This year, 31 regions, including Manchester, Merseyside and Burnley in the North West, are hosting competitions.
The Alma bills itself as Bolton's 'foremost grassroots alternative and live music venue'. The pub has recently been refurbished with an outside area custom made for music performances and dozens of regulars and rock fans from Bolton are expected to travel to Rebellion on Sunday to support the musicians.
Landlord of the Alma is 29-year-old Sam Elcoat-Dean, who is also the guitarist in Phallic Rage. He said: "Both the groups are seen as Alma house bands and all the lads are from Bolton. There will be a rivalry on Sunday but we're all mates.
"Sometimes members of the bands will fill in for the other group. We're just happy to get through as far as we have but yes, there is the dream of performing in front of thousands at a big festival.
"The Alma has a different clientele to any other pub in Bolton really. There's not much of a music scene left in the town but we've got one. We've done up the outdoor space with a rolling roof which has increased our capacity."
Matt Jones, 25, is the drummer with Phallic Rage. He said: "We're astonished we've got this far, so the only way is up. Both the bands are seeing the whole thing as a success for the Alma and the Bolton metal scene more than any of us.
"There's rivalry between us but that's all fun and games, each of us is just happy to be doing it. I'm sure it will be jam packed with our supporters from the Alma on Sunday."
Phallic Rage are also set to deploy their 'gimmick' during one of their songs. Matt said: "The last song that we do, probably our most popular, is called 'Bovine Intervention' and we have someone dressed in a cow costume enter the audience to get 'milked'.
"The cow is something the audience can subscribe to easily, we've had people turning up with cowboy hats and cow print outfits. We think something visual is the best way to go."
Alongside Matt and landlord-turned-guitarist Sam, Phallic Rage is also made up of vocalist Alex Partington and guitarist Phil Halliwell, whilst Dwingle's members are vocalist Joe Gibson, drummer Adrian Marsh and guitarist Chris Marsh.
Bassist Sam Cummings is currently playing with both bands after Phallic Rage singer Alex, their usual bassist, broke his wrist four days before the first stage of the competition.
'M2TM Manchester – Semi 1' will be held at Rebellion in Manchester (Whitworth St West, M1 5WZ) on Sunday night (May 4) from 5.30pm. Tickets can only be bought on the door.
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